At 24.8°C, Srinagar sees hottest July night after 33 years

SRINAGAR – Srinagar recorded its hottest July night after 33 years as the minimum temperature rose to 24.8 degrees Celsius (°C) on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday. July is the hottest month in J&K.

The local weather office said the minimum temperatures were high owing to the heatwave conditions in the region, and cloudy nights. “The minimum temperature last night was 24.8°C which is around 6°C above the normal. It is the hottest night since 1988,” said Farooq Ahmad Bhat of the meteorological department (MeT).

“The nights are getting particularly hot as the clouds trap heat,” he said. He said the hottest July night recorded in Srinagar in the past four decades was in 1988 when the mercury climbed to 25.2°C on July 21. On July 9, 2006, the minimum temperature was recorded at 24.4°C.

The maximum temperature in Srinagar on Monday was 33.3°C, 3.8°C degrees above normal.

The heatwave conditions are expected to improve from Wednesday.

MeT director Sonam Lotus said that a brief spell of light rain was likely in the evening at some places of Jammu and Kashmir. “Expect good monsoon showers especially in morning hours from July 28-30th with downpour in Jammu region. We expect a significant rise in water levels in all the rivers, especially of Jammu region,” he said.